Kajer flipped the layout to improve functionality and designed an efficient U-shaped work space. White subway tile, marble counters, dark wooden beams, and afew panel-style cabinets give the new space a period feel.

Location: San Marino, CA

When the owners of this classic Mediterranean-style California cottage purchased the home nine years ago, they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. The dwelling, located on a tree-lined street of San Marino, California, that was developed during the late 1920s, had been home to the wife's parents for more than 30 years. When her parents mentioned they were interested in selling, the wife, though a bit uneasy about maintaining a 70-year-old home, decided it was an opportunity not to be missed.

"I loved growing up in this house, in this quiet neighborhood, and homes here seldom come on the market," she says. "My husband and I knew that eventually we would want to live here; it just became sooner, rather than later."

Returning home, however, brought back more than memories of quaint family celebrations; it also brought visions of construction crews. While the wife's parents had made improvements to the place over their 30 years in the house, the last time the home received a top-to-bottom overhaul was 1960, the year the whole family took up residence.

Leading the wish list of improvements was the kitchen, a rabbit warren of tiny rooms (work area, breakfast nook, mudroom, butler's pantry, and powder room) at the back of the house. Like many homes built during the booming 1920s, these areas were originally meant for the service staff. They were often colorless places with the barest essentials. "Families didn't live in this part of their home in those days," says the wife. But my husband and I like to cook, and we wanted a comfortable kitchen that could easily accommodate two cooks."

For this, the couple turned to Pasadena-based architect Georgie Kajer. "We knew there were problems with how the space functioned, but we couldn't envision how to correct them," the wife says. "But Georgie saw what needed to be done." Her solution: Flip the layout, take down walls, and add on judiciously to fit within the lot's narrow footprint.

So the old breakfast room, extended by a scant 63 square feet, became the main kitchen work area—a U-shaped space with a built-in refrigerator, two wall ovens, a 48-inch-long cooktop, and a central island. At the opposite end of the now-expansive room are the breakfast table and home office, where both the kitchen and the mudroom used to be. Reversing the layout improved functionality—and the view. "They didn't want to look at the driveway every time they did dishes," says Kajer. "The main sink now looks out on their back garden and the distant San Gabriel Mountains."

To allow for windows that would do justice to these gorgeous views, Kajer had to rethink the traditional cabinetry layout. She decided not to rely heavily on the kitchen's old wall-hung cabinets—she kept only three—and, instead, added a walk-in pantry with floor-to-ceiling shelving and updated the existing, larger butler's pantry, which stores dishes and glassware. "[Pantries are] really more useful than cabinetry, because you're not limited by shelves that are only 12 inches deep," she says. Pots and pans are kept in deep drawers, all fitted with full-extension heavy-duty glides. "Ergonomically, [the drawers] work better than cabinets," says Kajer. Serving platters are stashed in open racks built into the wall.

The finished room relies on period design details to connect it with the rest of the house. To do this, Kajer reused original materials, such as doors, and matched new materials, such as exposed beams, to the architecture. What does the wife's family think of her updated Mediterranean masterpiece? "They love it," she smiles. "There wasn't one thing that any of them found fault with. That's an amazing accomplishment when you consider this home's been in our family for over 40 years."

A hole in the counter to the left of the sink provides access to the kitchen's trash can, which can only be removed from outside the home. To prevent animals and insects from getting into the garbage, the cupboard that contains the can is lined with galvanized metal.